Daily Inspiration 7-31-19

"The first point of wisdom 

is to discern that which is false; 

the second, to know that which is true." 

-- Lactantius 

"Follow the light of your intuition, 

and keep away from the darkness of convention." 

-- Michael Bassey Johnson

[Classic post from 2-13-15]

I have come to believe that if we are to live our lives in abundance, love, feeling good, joy, empowerment, that we are first willing and second to learn to discern.

I would change the top quote by Lactantius to "The first point of empowerment in your life is to discern how you are feeling at any given time, seeing clearly what you do not want, and second to have that contrast to help you discern what it is that you want in this moment, and then move toward that."

In the second quote, "the darkness of convention" is that contrast, and it is all around us all the time as we move through the day. By paying attention to how we are feeling, we will notice how that darkness feels, then "the light of our intuition", or our own inner knowing, which is creating that feeling helps us guide us toward better feeling thoughts, as we discern by paying attention, then by allowing it.

Today, I had a discussion of the idea of 'facing our fears,' as an attempt to overcome them, wrestle them to the ground, erase them from our psyche, or at the very least to disempower them or control them. To me, that is fighting it. It is like facing a bully, facing the enemy, or even facing the facts. 

None of this really accomplishes the objective because whatever we focus on grows or expands. The way through is to change the thought to a better feeling thought, and the more we do this, the more those thoughts become dominant in our lives, causing the fears and other negative emotions to lose their power naturally. We cannot go back and fix the past because it is gone. What we can do is to choose different thoughts today.

This applies in every area of our lives, in business, in relationships, in families, and within our own minds. Wherever we choose to place our focus, will attract more of that which we are paying attention to. So, logically, if we pay attention to better feeling things, we will feel better. Yet so often, we are not paying attention or willing to pay attention because of the "darkness of convention" and all the "wisdom" of all those around us.

I recently saw it written that people are very particular about the car they drive, the clothes they wear, the food they eat, and yet so many are not even paying attention to nor discerning what they are thinking. They have a negative thought and feel those negative feelings and blame external things for that, including circumstances, events, other people and more.

Let's take an example of a salesperson who is feeling poorly because they are unsure, do not have confidence, knowledge, or don't have the tools they perceive they need. Or maybe they are focusing on their lack of success or production. They are far less likely to succeed in this endeavor until they can learn to pay attention to their feelings, then begin the process of choosing better feeling thoughts. Yesterday, I mentioned to a salesperson that he needed to focus on what is good, what is right, what the dealership is doing well, and to focus on himself doing the best that he can do with whatever he has at his disposal.

The single most important thing he (or any of us in every facet of life) has at his or her disposal is paying attention to how we feel, and finding ways to feel better and better until he or she is feeling confident, empowered, joyful, loving, excited, anticipating positive responses and more.

What drives us then, is one, to discern how we are feeling, then to notice that whenever we are not feeling good, this will cause us to know what we want. Often though, people will even do this but then focus on the lack of what they want instead of what they really want. In other words, they carry pessimism with them cancelling out what they want.

All we need do is perceive through discernment what we are feeling, realize that is not what we want, which causes us to notice what we do want, then turning toward that and finding better feeling thoughts until we arrive at a better feeling place. It's not rocket science. Instead, it is easy enough if we make a couple of decisions: One, that we want to feel good, do good, be successful, enjoy our lives. And, two, to pay attention to how we are feeling at any given time and if it is not to our liking, then turn and choose better feeling thoughts until we arrive.


No More Victims Of Circumstance. Choose To Be A Deliberate Creator Of The Life You Want. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by choosing thoughts that cause that feeling.

Daily Inspiration 7-30-19

"People often move 

 from job to job, 

profession to profession, 

employer to employer, 

only to find the next place 

no better than the last-- 
and the reason for that is, 
they take themselves 

everywhere they go." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

[Classic post from 2-12-15]

Abraham & Esther Hicks continues, "When you go to a new place and you continue to complain about what was wrong with your last position in order to explain why you came to the new position, the same vibrational mix of resistance goes with you and continues to prevent the thing you want from coming to you.

The best way to accomplish an improved work environment is to focus upon the best things about where you currently are until you flood your own vibrational patterns of thought with appreciation, and in that changed vibration, you can then allow the new-and-improved conditions and circumstances to come into your experience.

Some worry that if they follow our encouragement to look for good things about where they are, it will only hold them longer in the unwanted place, but the opposite is really true: In your state of appreciation, you lift all self-imposed limitations (and all limitations are self-imposed) and you free yourself for the receiving of wonderful things."

Today I was talking with a salesman who was complaining to me about what the dealership is not doing that he thinks will make a dramatic difference and he is amazed that they have not done it. He was new to this dealership and I asked if I could give him a bit of advice. I told him to "stop complaining, especially since you're new and to focus only on the positive things about the dealership, what they are doing well, and to focus on what you can do with what you have to work with." He said, "I'm not complaining, it's just that. . ." I stopped him abruptly and said that he was indeed complaining and it won't help in the least.

It's interesting how people complain and yet deny they are complaining. Somehow they think they are pointing out the facts and that should be accepted that way, but it has nothing to do with facts because they are slippery things. It was complaining.

The best thing to do here is to begin appreciating, create a book of positive aspects and write the many appreciations down on paper and keep adding to it regularly. That is the solution to the issue. Focus on what is right and good and ignore the rest.

In the mid-1970s, I hired an experienced salesman, then within a few days, I overheard him complaining about the dealership to several of the other salespeople. I called him into my office and fired him on the spot. He was cancer in the organization, and I wanted him to take his crap somewhere else.

Whatever we complain about, we create more of. Whatever we appreciate, we create more of. Whatever we focus on, we create more of.


"The Secret To All Success Is Keeping Yourself Happy." -- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

Spread Some Joy Today--by appreciating anything and everything that you can.

Daily Inspiration 7-29-19

"The problem is not

that there are problems. 

The problem is expecting otherwise 

and thinking that having problems 

is a problem." 

-- Theodore Rubin 

[Classic post from 2-11-15]

I used such a wonderful and truthful quote the other day by John Muir: "When we tug at a single thing in nature, we find it attached to the rest of the world." It's interesting to look at things that way, including our lives, and in business, interactions with others and more.

As an example, I was talking with someone the other day and he said that a body shop was not doing well at the moment and they've been in business for a very long time. Then it came to me that it has been such a mild and warm winter with very little rain, and it then reminded me that body shops probably generally thrive in the average winter because of slick roads, lots of rain, poor visibility, being in a hurry and all manner of causes to give body shops a lot of business.

This year has had very little rain, very infrequently, and all of it warm. In fact, in California, there has been a long, multi-year drought and there's no indication that that is changing as of today. The drought or lack of rain is more than just rain, it is the snowpack in the Sierra's that means more than just rain. And the rain has benefits and then it also has what many will call problems. But, are they really?

When it rains several days and there is a significant amount of rain, it is of benefit to the landscaping, plants, trees, flowers, shrubs, and more. At the same time, it can cause the ground to soften, then trees to fall with even small amounts of wind, knockdown power lines, crash into roofs, and more. And yet there are more benefits to the tree service companies taking care of the removal of the tree, the landscaping companies to replace the tree, the power people to repair the line, the construction people to fix the house, the roofing people to replace the section of roof, and maybe even get a job to replace the entire roof because it was getting old anyway, the painting company to redo the paint and trim, the telephone people to fix the wiring, the electrician to redo that wiring, or even upgrade service, the insurance company who helps with all of that, the new choices the homeowner gets to make since they have this new opportunity, and on and on it goes with the benefits.

Everything is perception. Calling it a problem is generally thought of as a negative, yet it can also be shown to be a huge positive as I demonstrated in the last paragraph. It all depends on your point of view, and every single thing that occurs on this planet has its pluses and minuses similar to what I have shown here.

What I find interesting in how I've changed since 2007 is that I see all of these things and prior to that, a problem was a problem and a benefit was a benefit. Now I see them both in everything that happens. I might have a reaction for a very short time, and then I will remember that there is no problem without a benefit, if not many benefits. At the same time, the opposite is true. However, the perspective that I have now is such a blessing to be able to not be upset about things because I know full well that there is always a silver lining. I even get excited about events to see what the benefits are going to be.


Seek And Ye Shall Find. Open Your Eyes And Your Mind To New Possibilities, New Ways Of Looking At Things. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by focusing on the benefits, seeking your own joyful perspective, and sharing it by just being yourself.

Daily Inspiration 7-28-19

"Writing something down onto paper 

is your strongest point of focus." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

[Classic post from 2-10-15]

I don't know about you, but when I am writing something down, it is far more beneficial to me than just thinking the thought. I've known this for many years, and I've written several thousand pages of things down through my life. The act has a way of clarifying things, and it helps things that are just pieces of thoughts to be assembled into a larger picture. It helps me to grow and learn and expand.

Based on this, you might say that these Daily Inspirations are purely selfish in nature because they help me to collect and expand my thinking, and at the same time, offers a way of sending that out as a message for any who are wanting to receive it. And in turn, it seems that many find some benefit in that, perhaps even helping them clarify, grow and expand, which helps them to share, thereby benefiting others, and so it has now all around the world. And, it is all because it was written down. 

Have you ever sat down with pen and paper, or on your electronic paper, and write out what you want? Have you ever tried to write it as storytelling it with you as the leading character, and telling it the way you want things to be in your life? There is great value in this.

Have you ever sat down and written out your goals? Short term, mid and long term goals? A bucket list? Just a list of things you want to do someday? All of those are desires or wants. The more you want them, the more you will focus on them and the faster they will come about. The main thing about anything on any of these lists is to pay attention to how you feel when you think about them, focus on them, write them down. Because they are wants, you should have a good feeling when you write them out. In some cases, there are things you want more, so you will feel an even stronger positive emotion about them.

At the same time, if you are writing down something you want, and you are not sure you deserve it, or you have no idea how it will come, or you're sick and tired of it not coming yet, or you think you will never have the money to do it, and any number of negative thoughts, you are working against your own desires and canceling them out before they even have a chance to come into manifestation.

One easy word that gives you a strong clue is the word 'but.' When you state something and then say, but. . . and fill in that blank, whatever you wanted is effectively canceled. More important than the canceling would be the fact that now you have set in motion the act of bringing more of that 'but' thinking and 'but' manifestations. "I want that, but I cannot afford it." This is a common statement. What you wanted is immediately canceled, and you get more of the 'but I cannot afford it' in your life. Now there will be more things that you cannot afford, maybe even less money than you had before. You have to get your but out.

Also when you are writing these wants down, if there is a but in your thinking, you will be feeling negative emotion if you are paying attention. It might only start as discomfort, and it will often grow into disappointment, frustration, anger, powerlessness. The negative emotion is your Emotional Guidance System working on your behalf to let you know that you are helping grow more of what you do not want.

It's time to change this. It's time to change this NOW.

Start by writing what you want and if you feel but negatives going on, stop immediately and pivot by saying, 'Well, I am seeing an issue here. What is causing this negative thought? That was how I used to think, and now I think differently. Today, I focus my energy and thoughts on what I WANT. I refuse to give any more energy to what I DO NOT WANT.

If you still have any issue, cross it off, erase it for now and move on, all the while realizing that you have just made massive progress by paying attention to how you feel, pivoting and focusing on what you DO WANT and what DOES cause you to feel good, and as you focus there, these things are on their way to you.


One Easy Way To Get The 'But' Out Is To Put The 'And' In. Using That One Word Automatically Causes You To Expand On The Want Rather Than Canceling It. 

Spread Some Joy Today--and feel how that feels to you. There is nothing like it.

Daily Inspiration 7-27-19

"Expectations are a form 

of first-class truth: 

If people believe it, 

it's true." 

-- Bill Gates 

[Classic post from 2-9-15]

Based on looking at quite a number of quotes about expectation, most seem to follow one by Michael Landon: "I don't have expectations. Expectations in your life just lead to giant disappointments." Eric Hoffer said, "Disappointment is a sort of bankruptcy--the bankruptcy of a soul that expends too much in hope and expectation."

It seems that of the ones I went through, the vast majority of that expectation is negative. I had a salesperson tell me a long time ago that they could not set goals because of the potential for disappointment. In other words, they are expecting things to not work out.

Yet every subject is two subjects according to Abraham-Hicks. They say that each subject is like picking up a stick that has two ends and it just depends what end of the stick you have hold of. Earl Nightingale says it very well when he said, "Our environment, the world in which we live and work, is a mirror of our attitudes and expectations."

The other end of the stick is positive expectations. Norman Vincent Peale said, "If you paint in your mind a picture of bright and happy expectations, you put yourself into a condition conducive to your goal." Sam Walton put it a bit differently by saying, "High expectations are the key to everything." 

From a workshop in 2003, Abraham said this and it really got my attention: "The majority have been programmed from their past experiences to expect ________. And while it is something they don't want, they are programmed to expect it. And so, they're going to get what they expect. It's not that what they expect is the reality that everyone lives, but that everyone lives the reality of what they expect."

The blank that I inserted, in the quote actually was two words: physical decline. But, I like it better where you fill in the blank because that quote can stand firm and accurate with a thousand situations or ideas. We could insert, "less money after retirement and less freedom," or "to become larger as they get older," or "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer," or "to make less money because I'm a woman," or "to expect low paying jobs," or "that the cards are stacked against me," or, "those people are just a bunch of terrorists," or a thousand other things that we have come to believe about the world.

So what can we do with this idea of expectations, especially when they are not serving me? Start by wanting to be aware of your own Emotional Guidance System and pay attention to how you feel when you think about these subjects. If you are not feeling good, that is a clear indication that it isn't serving you. It can be reprogrammed by seeking better feeling thoughts, or by pivoting which I discussed yesterday.

There is simply and only one requirement. You have to want to change. It will never happen on its own, and in fact, it will only get worse by the Law of Attraction adding more thoughts, circumstances, people, and events to strengthen what you are expecting by your focus on it. The opposite is equally true. By changing directions and moving toward that which you want and what feels good when you think about it, you are thereby reprogramming yourself by programming yourself for feeling good and changing from expecting the worst to expecting the best.


You Get What You Expect. What Are You Expecting? What Are Your Expectations? How Does That Make You Feel? 

Spread Some Joy Today--because it is just like shining a light into a dark room.

Daily Inspiration 7-26-19

"What if you could?" 

-- Alan Cohen 

[Classic post from 2-8-15]

Sometimes in sharing ideas when I think people may be ready to hear, someone will object stating that it is hard and unrealistic to be positive all the time. I actually agree with that because contrast, or a thing that we do not want, or do not like, cause us to feel negative emotion. In the newspapers, radio and TV news, the Internet and via friends and coworkers, there is plenty of contrast that can cause us to feel that negative emotion. So yes, staying positive all the time cannot be if we are to grow and expand.

The only issue is how long we stay in that place.

Abraham and Esther Hicks point out, "Many around you want to point out "reality" to you. They say, "Face the facts. Look at what-is." And we say to you if you are able to see only what-is--then, by Law of Attraction, you will create only more of what-is. . . You must be able to put your thoughts beyond what-is in order to attract something different or something more."

Facts are stubborn things. They are not easy to ignore. But, as Albert Einstein so aptly pointed out, "the definition of insanity is doing the same things, and expecting a different result." Or, more appropriately, thinking the same things and expecting a different result cannot work.


It might be a while. . . Change can take time, but the better the focus, the less time is needed. But one thing is certain. Without the change, things will remain the same or so similar that you cannot tell them apart.

My own previous tendency toward negative thinking is simply that I would think the worst more times than of the best outcome. I would misplace my keys, wallet, or something else and immediately start thinking that someone took it, moved it without my knowledge, and a long list of other silliness. It hardly ever turned out to be true, but it was my first thought. It's a challenge to change that kind of momentum, but it can be done when we decide we want to.

Enter one of the best tools for positive change I have found called Pivoting. I shared it briefly before, and it is so powerful and easy. Now, when I have a negative thought or scenario about a negative outcome, I pay attention to what I am feeling. When I have thoughts like that, I tense up inside, feel bad (worry, blame, discouragement, disappointment, etc.) and I am paying attention, I can immediately stop the thought, and make a statement to myself, or even aloud sometimes. I will say, "That is what I don't want. What is it that I do want?"

This is one powerful statement and question that changes my focus immediately in search of what it is that I do want. Before I was only seeing "reality" or imagining something that I did not want, and now I have pivoted and gone a different direction, choosing different thoughts, feeling better thoughts.

If you have ever had a tendency like I did, I think that this process will help you move from being negative, which is more in our self-talk than anything, to thinking more positively, and from that better perspective, or vantage point, you will find more joy and better results. It is only the desire to change, and this pivoting process will help add energy and focus to that desire for change, that will help change to something better rather than changing to more of the same.

I love how Abraham puts it from the book, Ask and It Is Given and based on this, one might even decide to get excited about negative emotion:

"When you are feeling negative emotion, you are in a very good position to identify what you want. Because never are you more clear about what you do want than when you are experiencing what you do not want. And so, if you will stop in that moment and say, Something is important here, otherwise I would not be feeling this negative emotion; I need to focus on what I want, and then turn your attention to what it is that you want--in the moment of the turning of your attention, the negative emotion and the negative attraction will stop. And in the moment the negative attraction stops, the positive attraction will begin. And your feelings will change from not feeling good to feeling good. That is the process of Pivoting."


100% Positive May Not Be Possible, But How About 90-95%? How Would That Feel? 

Spread Some Joy Today--In your own expansion and positive change, and in celebrating your decision to change, joy is the immediate result. It will not go unnoticed, I assure you.

Daily Inspiration 7-25-19

"It is not in the stars 

to hold our destiny 

but in ourselves." 

-- William Shakespeare 

[Classic post from 2-7-15]

To experience a better life--and by better, I mean happier, with more joy, where things are going the way I want them to go, and that I am in charge of my own destiny rather than looking for someone or something outside of me to do that for me. That wouldn't be destiny so much as fate. When it is fate, I cannot even imagine the purpose of it all.

As it has all of my life, as it is today, and will be tomorrow, it is all in my choices. My life is experienced in my choices of people to be around, choices of things I decide to do, choices on where to live, what to eat, and such. Yet, I have found that at the head of all of that is my choices of thought. It might be said better this way: thinking on purpose with purpose rather than just thinking.

Lao Tzu said, "Stop thinking and end your problems." I'm certain what he meant by that is that all of our problems are in our thought first, and experience later, and they are only a problem as we think that and feel that. I'm sure what he meant to say was choose a different thought, or align with the Tao Te Ching within by choice--on purpose.

Christians today might say to adopt a Christ Consciousness by aligning with the God within. the New Age crowd might say to align with the Universe or All-That-Is. And, I don't care what the words are we choose to use in this, the important part is that we are part of all of creation and that we are creators ourselves and we have guidance and ultimate knowledge within any time we choose to align with that to help us make better choices and then to experience a better life, or more fulfilling life. 

Yogi Berra in his ultimate wisdom said, "If you don't know where you are going, you'll end up somewhere else." That somewhere else is often what people complain about. How did I get here? How can I enjoy my life more?

From the book, Ask and It Is Given, by Esther & Jerry Hicks, Abraham says, "Even though a clear desire has emanated from you as a result of the contrast you have considered, you often, rather than giving your attention purely to the desire itself, focus back on the contrasting situation that gave birth to the desire. And in doing so, your vibration is more about the reason you have launched the desire than it is about the desire itself. . . As long as you are more aware of what you do not want regarding this situation, what you do want cannot come to you."

And how do we know where we are in that? By the way, we feel as we are thinking. If we are not feeling good, we are focused on the rearview mirror. When we feel good, we are focused on where we are, and seeing more clearly than ever out of the windshield.

Abraham adds, "It is not possible for you to consistently feel positive emotion about something and have it turn out badly, just as it is not possible for you to consistently feel bad about something and have it turn out well--for the way you feel will tell you if you are allowing your natural Well-Being or not."

I'm not writing this to anyone else as much as to myself. I have studied this for some time now, and I still need more practice. If there is anything called "work" involved in this, it would be to focus. That requires a decision and some small bit of willpower, but it isn't really work. Still, it is easier to just go along with the busyness of my life, including the rehashing of old memories, seeing what I don't want in today's world, noticing what I am missing, wondering why it hasn't come yet, and so on. It's easier because I've had a lifetime of practice at that.

However, I am making good progress now by writing more in my Book of Positive Aspects, my inconsistent, yet moving toward consistent Meditation, Wouldn't It Be Nice notes, Pivoting, Having occasional Rampages of Appreciation, just to name a few of the games or processes in this book. I notice the difference, and I pivot more easily, more frequently. I beat myself up less. I choose more often what I want rather than what I do not want.

The whole idea here is to choose what I want deliberately, then to focus on that as exclusively as possible, pay attention to how I feel, knowing that I have decided that I want to feel good. I choose more thoughts that feel good more often, and I am claiming success at this moment, resting gently in my obviously improved experience, while eagerly anticipating a joyful future that will knock my socks off.


The Only Thing Stopping Me From All That I Want Is My Choice Of Thought. I Am Now Choosing Those Thoughts That Feel Good When I Think Them. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Boy, that gets easier too. Who doesn't want more joy in their lives?

Daily Inspiration 7-24-19

"Real generosity is 

generosity of the spirit." 

-- Alan Cohen 

[Classic post from 1-31-16]

Alan Cohen in his latest book, A Course in Miracles Made Easy, shares some thoughts about generosity and gifts. He mentions that in his life coaching work, he coaches people who want to help others but who feel that their lack of money is holding them back. He tells them that there are a number of ways to give without any money at all. Some of them include giving "time, talent, attention, listening, compassion, service, space, wisdom, or skill."

Then he compares gifts of the world with the gifts of God. He says, "You can distinguish between the gifts of the world and gifts of God by one simple test: When you give a gift of the world, you have less and someone else has more. When you give a gift of God, both giver, and receiver gain. The gifts of the world are physical commodities. The gifts of God are energetic experiences." 

He goes on to say, "When you give love, kindness, patience, or forgiveness, you gain the experience of the gift you are giving, in the moment you give it, so you are as blessed as the receiver." 

I love that line, "The gifts of God are energetic experiences." And, I especially love the method of telling if a gift is of the world or of God or of our Spirit, or our Source: "When you give a gift of the world, you have less and someone else has more." This is particularly true of money. "When you give a gift of God, both giver, and receiver gain." What a blessing it is to see that difference now so clearly from his brief explanation.


The Gift Of Energetic Experience. . . 

Spread Some Joy Today--Joy is not a result. It is a choice.

Daily Inspiration 7-23-19

"Flawed Premise #12: 

There is a finite container of resources

that we are all dipping into with our requests. 

Therefore, when I satisfy my request for something, 

I deprive others of that resource. 

All of the abundance, resources, 

and solutions already exist, 

merely waiting to be discovered; 

and if someone else gets there first,

then the rest of us 

will be deprived of that discovery." 

 -- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

[Classic post from 2-6-15]

I deal with so many businesses and most of them, if not all, seem to believe so much in competition. Many see being number one on Google as the holy grail of Internet effectiveness, and other such things. It's not that these things aren't of value, but the attitude toward it. They get so disappointed that others are on page one and they are not, and much more. It's all about competing for the limited amount of business out there so that they can get their fair share of it, or better yet, a superior share of it.

Market share drives many large companies. They analyze that to death and a movement of even one point of market share is said to be worth millions. It's all about the market being a limited resource and getting more, or a higher percentage of that limited resource and beating the competition. They perceive that everyone is vying for the same thing and so they work even harder to move the needle because it is so important in a limited world.

These are very common views of the business world. They are also common views of finding a mate, and a large variety of relational endeavors including sports. In fact, sports is one of those things that continues to perpetuate the idea that winning is everything, and being number one is the only goal.

When I read more about the quote above of the flawed premise #12, I loved it immediately and it spoke to me with such enthusiasm and joy. This is from the book, The Vortex - Where the Law of Attraction Assembles All Cooperative Relationships, by Esther and Jerry Hicks. Here is just a portion of their explanation of this:

"What many are regarding as the "discovery" of abundance or resources or solutions, we want you to understand is actually the "creation" of abundance, resources, and solutions. When the living of your life causes you to desire an improvement--your Vibrational request for that improvement sets forth the process of the attraction and actualization of that improvement. In living your Leading Edge lives, you are not merely discovering improved benefits. You are creating them."

"Many people deprive themselves of much that they desire because of their misunderstanding of the ever-evolving, ever-expanding, ever-created pool of resources. . . This misunderstanding is at the heart of the feeling of competition. You did not come here to compete for the resources of your planet. You came as creators. If your time-space reality has the wherewithal to inspire a desire within you, it is our absolute promise to you that your time-space reality has the ability to deliver, in full-manifested form, the reality of the desire it has inspired. . . And so, you are not in competition with the others who share your planet. They could never deprive you of something by taking it for themselves. In fact, their existence enhances your ability to receive, for, in your interaction with them, your own desires are inspired."

What fascinates me about this in particular, was the idea that we create our own resources and solutions--indeed, our own abundance. We do not need to compete, for the whole idea of competition is a belief in lack; that there is only so much to go around and if I am to get some, I'd better get going. It isn't an aggressive stance, but a creative stance. It isn't a make it happen thing, but a focused drawing of it toward me. Competing is always about lack, limited resources, limited availability, and yet the world is truly abundant when we look in that direction. And, after reading and understanding that I also create that abundance, I feel free and even more alive.


The Existence Of And Interaction With Others Enhances Our Own Ability To Receive! 

Spread Some Joy Today--with your own inner glow.

Daily Inspiration 7-22-19

"After a time, you may find that 'having'

is not so pleasing a thing, after all, as 'wanting.'

It is not logical, but it is often true."

- Mr. Spock,
Star Trek

[Classic post from 10-31-09]

When I read this quote, I related to it immediately. It is often very true for me.

Some recent (last few years) examples: I wanted a very special and very rare electric guitar. I found one, bought it. Then I never played it and sold it. I wanted a treadmill, bought it and I have used it about 5 times in three years. Mostly it takes up space by owning it. I could probably list almost every possession I have and it would be that way, though most of them are just here or in storage, again not being used.

I've thought about this often and it feels kind of weird to want things, finally get them and then not care about them anymore. I think Spock is right: "It is not logical, but it is often true." Of course, I also have things I love and use and continue to take pleasure in.

The thing for me to reconcile is that it is natural and okay to want things. It is also okay to get them. And, if I no longer really want them, or they no longer hold that value I thought they would have, it is okay to let them go again. Sort of like catch and release fishing. It's that things are just not that important, but the desire is.

This made me think of advertising by P.G. & E., our local electric and gas provider. They advertise that they encourage people to conserve power as if that is critical. The government encourages the same and I'm sure that P.G. & E. does this mostly due to government encouragement. But conservation is not the answer.

I see a lot of ads by Shell Oil and Chevron about conservation, using less fuel and how good a thing this is for everyone. That's like a car dealer saying don't buy so many cars. It's so stupid to hear them say that when this is diametrically opposed to what they do as a business. Conservation is not the answer.

The answer is not conservation, it is desire and expansion. The energy solution is new types of energy, and especially cheaper and renewable energy, instead of doing the same things and expecting a different result (insanity). A desire for something new creates expansion until something new arrives.

The same is true for us. We are desire-driven creatures. Desire is good. Holding it down and beating it up is not good. Expansion is good. Believing that abundance exists is good. Creating shortages and promoting that concept is not good.

Play with your desires: I ran across this from Bob Proctor and others. It is big fun and quite rewarding. Take out a few sheets of paper or a notebook. Now, write everything you want until to have at least 101 things. Trips, places you want to go, things you want to do, people you want to meet, situations you want to happen, businesses you want, anything you want regardless of its size or cost. Pay no attention to any of the 'how' part, just focus on what pleases you when you think of it. Pay attention only to 'what' you want, as if the 'how' did not really matter at all.

This will be a powerful thing for you to read again and again and watch what gets crossed off. It is satisfying and fun and you will be amazed how many get crossed off in a relatively short period of time. We are desire-driven. You are in charge!


I Will Get My. . . Satisfaction. I Will Get My. . .

Spread Some Joy Today--Call One Or Two Special People And Tell Them You Love Them. Out Of The Blue Is Cool.

Daily Inspiration 7-21-19

"Whatever it takes 

to stay inspired 

is worth it."

-- Alan Cohen 

[Classic post from 2-3-15]

I used to call what happened today a bad day, or at least a bad afternoon. But, I have these feelings so rarely now that I just call it a bit of contrast toward my only goal of feeling good. As Alan Cohen says, "Whatever it takes to stay inspired is worth it." I agree totally.

I had an issue with a client's employee today, and nothing I said was received in the way it was intended to be transmitted. The harder I tried, the worse it got. Ever had that feeling? I wasn't taking their problem seriously was the claim, but of course, that is absolutely not true. It's just that I know my business and she doesn't, but that wouldn't fly either. Still, I endeavored to do the best I could. 

What it comes down to is that I can only control what I send, but it is impossible for me to control how it is received. There were a lot of non-control frustrations going on. But, it was more than her, there were more things coming until late in the afternoon at the gas pump in the commuter rush hour, I just started laughing. It's all so silly, isn't it? At least I was thinking that.

This caused me to remember a quote I recently received. It helps to put all our problems in perspective:

"In being with dying, we arrive at a natural crucible of what it means to love and be loved. And we can ask ourselves this: Knowing that death is inevitable, what is most precious today?" -- Roshi Joan Halifax. And I'll add another from Alan Cohen: "If you are going to commit to anything, commit to happiness." I agree totally.

So, after the gas pump, I came home unpacked my load, lit some candles, turned on the stereo with some favorite music and poured a favorite drink and chilled very quickly into that peaceful place of no cares, worries or complaint.

The good news is that afternoons like this happen so rarely now that I laugh just because of that joy. The more good news is that it really doesn't matter nearly as much as some people think it does. I have to follow my own guidance in that and take the other being upset as not really anything I have much control over. They can choose happiness, or whatever they like.

I feel that I have arrived at a place that an Abraham quote said so well: "When you are comfortable on your path, it doesn't matter where it leads." I love that. I feel that. I am comfortable on my path. A little contrast here and there is a given, but I focus not there, but on the comfort.



I Am Wishing That All Of Your Frustrations Evaporate As Easily And Thoroughly. Peace. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by remembering that you and only you--yes! you and only you, have total control over what you want. Want joy? Let's all say, YES!

Daily Inspiration 7-20-19

"Deliberately guiding your thoughts

is the key to a joyful life, 

but a desire to feel joy

is the best plan of all. . . 

because in the reaching for joy, 

you find the thoughts that attract 

the wonderful life you desire." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

[Classic post from 1-31-15]

Success is one of those strange single word topics that has trillions of words written about it, and it is also true that everyone individually defines it for themselves, even if they choose to use someone else's definition as their basis.

One of my favorite books I've ever read in my life is, Love Is Letting Go Of Fear by Gerald G Jampolsky. I've mentioned it many times because it is a very simple, short, concise book for people of any age to use as a common-sense guide for a happier life. In the book, Gerald talks about goals and rather than trying to juggle personal goals, business goals, and all manner of other goals, that it would be more productive and more effective to focus on just one goal that will help all the others to fall in place. He said that was the goal of peace of mind. Peace of mind is way beyond contentment. It is at the highest level of positive emotion.

In the reading of, The Law Of Attraction by Jerry & Esther Hicks, there is something identical, yet using a different word. On page 71, Jerry asks, "What do you see as success? What would you say is the mark of success?" Here is Abraham's answer:

"The achievement of anything that you desire must be considered success, whether it is a trophy, money, relationships, or things. But if you will let your standard of success be your achievement of joy, everything else will fall easily into place. For in the finding of joy, you are finding vibrational alignment with the resources of the Universe.

You cannot feel joy while you are focusing upon something not wanted, or the lack of something wanted; therefore, while you are feeling joy, you will never be in the state of contradicted vibration. And only the contradiction in your own thoughts and vibration can keep you from the things you desire.

. . . By paying attention to [your] Emotional Guidance System, and by reaching for the best-feeling thought that you can find right now from wherever you are, you will allow your broader perspective to help you move in the direction of the things that you truly want."

Peace of mind. Joy. Knowledge. Love. Freedom. Empowerment. Appreciation. All are at the top of the emotional scale, and what better place to aim for than this. The more joy I find in my life, or rather, it is better to put this way: the more joy I allow in my life, the more everything else follows suit.


I Am Practicing Until It Becomes Habitual. Yet The Joy Along The Way Is More Than Enough. 

Spread Some Joy Today--It takes one to know one. It takes joy to spread joy.

Daily Inspiration 7-19-19

"What monstrous absurdities and paradoxes 

have resisted whole batteries of serious arguments, 

and then crumbled swiftly into dust 

before the ringing death-knell of a laugh!" 

-- Agnes Repplier 

[Classic post from 1-30-15]

I'll never forget a short scene from the movie, Arthur, where Dudley Moore who played Arthur, is in the backseat of his limo with a female companion and they're both having a drink, and he all of a sudden bursts out in joyous laughter. The woman asks what that was all about and Arthur says, "Sometimes I just think funny things."

I'm not sure what has changed in me, but I find myself doing the same thing quite often throughout the day. I see something and it fills me with joy and I start laughing. I think it is just a build-up of my practicing my own deliberate creation of what I want throughout the day, and it is getting easier and easier.

Today started out that way. I'm typing on my computer, and all of a sudden my dog Charlie starts barking at me one bark at a time. I look over and he's staring at me. It's just too dang cute, so I laugh. He barks some more. He wants attention, love, petting, touching. I know this and love the fact that he has no problem saying what he wants, so I go over while laughing and give him some love, talking to him.

We go for a walk and across the busy street, there is a little dog yapping at us with his or her nose sticking out of a hole in the fence. It's just too dang cute, so I start laughing and telling that dog that we're coming for a visit. So, we cross the street and let them meet each other.

I'm stopped at the railroad crossing watching this freight train going 50-60 miles per hour go by and we're right at the crossing gate. It is all double-stacked containers on container cars. It must be five miles long. We're there for several minutes as it keeps coming and coming and coming. I'm laughing the whole way through. It was fantastic.

Now, it's true, most people wouldn't think any of this is funny, but it is just my joy leaking out. The washer in my joy faucet is allowing more and larger leaks. I don't have the time nor inclination to fix it. I'm enjoying it too much.

I see an ambulance ahead on the other side of the road coming toward us. I'm thinking, they are just turning on the lights and sirens to get to the lunch place without traffic! There isn't an emergency. They're just bored. So, I start laughing. Then I have a huge thought:

If you think that last elongated recession was big, it would not be a tick on a prize bull if all the people in the world began experiencing Well-Being. Just take a moment to imagine how many industries, businesses, products, services, and more are related directly and indirectly to the lack of Well-Being, commonly called dis-ease. This would be an unmistakable blip on the EKG of the entire history of human-kind. There would also be such a rush toward new businesses, positions, products, industries, and services that focused on more Well-Being. It would be flippin' amazing. So I'm laughing through that whole thought process and getting a rush of my own imagining everyone going around in total bliss!

Whatever has changed in me in the last many months, I eagerly look with excited anticipation of more of this because it is so empowering and feels so good. Laughter is only a symptom of a specific train of thought. I'm loving my thinking of late. If I could bottle it, I'd be a zillionaire (or is that gazillionaire?) If I could wish something for you, it would be some of this!


"When People Are Laughing, They're Generally Not Killing Each Other." -- Alan Alda 

Spread Some Joy Today--and laughter is one of the better ways of spreading it.

Daily Inspiration 7-18-19

"What is the difference

between wanting and needing? 

How it feels." 

-- Albert K Strong 

[Classic post from 1-26-15]

I have often confused wanting and needing, and I have learned how to tell the difference by how each of them feels and I learned this from the Teachings of Abraham:

"When you want something and are thinking about how wonderful it will be to have it, your current emotion feels good because your current thought is a Vibrational Match to your true desire. But when you want something but are currently thinking about not having it, about the absence or lack of it, your current emotion feels bad because your current thought is a Vibrational mismatch to your true desire."

They continue: "The difference between wanting and needing is not just speaking different words. A pure state of desire or wanting always feels good because you are a Vibrational Match to what is in your own Vibrational Reality. A state of need always feels bad because you are a Vibrational Match to the absence of your desire and are therefore a mismatch to your Vibrational Reality."

Even though this explanation resonates perfectly with me and I understand it well, I don't even really need to understand it if I will pay attention to how I am feeling. Our own internal Emotional Guidance System is simply the best tool I've ever had, where I know that if I am feeling negative emotion that I am off track, and, if I am feeling positive emotion, I can feel that I am on track.

I like to call it being in alignment, or resonating. It makes perfect sense to me.

Any musician should understand resonance. For many years, I used a simple tone generator to tune my guitar. It would generate a tone for the E-string for example and I would turn the tuning machine until the string sound and the tone generator matched. It isn't just something that you hear. It is something that you can feel. The old way was using an A-note tuning fork which vibrated at 440 Hertz, as I tuned the A-string on the guitar, I could feel it as the vibrations were the same. The guitar string resonated with the tuning fork. Even being off the slightest amount makes a difference and is dissonant, not resonating, out of tune. It isn't a matching vibration. Most good tuners now use lights, green in the middle and red lights on either side of the perfect resonance place or the in-tune place.

It is exactly the same inside me. My inner being, inner knowing, higher self, or whatever label you choose, is my tuning fork, or my tone generator. Whatever thought I am thinking will resonate with or not resonate with my inner being. When it resonates, I feel positive emotion, or you could say, I'm in tune with my higher self. When I feel bad or any negative emotion, I am dissonant, out of harmony with myself, not resonating, out of alignment. When I am aligned, I feel good, when I am out of alignment, I do not feel good.


My Tuner Is Built In And I Have Grown Quite Fond Of The Value Of Resonance And Alignment. 

Spread Some Joy Today--You'll know it when you feel it. It resonates very positively.

Daily Inspiration 7-17-19

"I'm thankful to

all those who said no. 

It's because of them, 

I did it myself." 

-- Wayne Dyer 

[Classic post from 1-25-15]

Several months ago, I read Wayne Dyer's wonderful book, I Can See Clearly Now, and since it is essentially an autobiography up to the end of 2013, I learned a lot about Wayne Dyer, the person. Since I've followed Wayne since his first book in the seventies, Your Erroneous Zones, I have been not only following along with many (not all) of his books, but I've been growing right along with him. I find that sort of thing very interesting.

In almost every situation he discusses in that book, and there are so many, he found resistance and/or did not like the direction someone else was trying to guide him, and then he made a decision to take charge himself and take the power into his own control. One was his first book which the publisher refused to print more copies of because he was a first-time author and they didn't want to spend any money promoting the book at all. So he took control in some very interesting ways, You'll have to read to book to get that whole story, but he turned it into such a massive success that what he earned that first year was more than all his previous years combined.

I've done some of that myself by creating my own positions at some places that I've worked, building my first website not knowing a dang thing about it, and more. I rarely take no for an answer. In my wallet, I used to carry a quote written on the back of a business card that someone shared with me. It was from George Bernard Shaw, and he stated, "People who say, 'It can't be done,' should not interrupt the people who are doing it."

Sometimes I see people (I've even heard myself say it from time to time) who say that they can't succeed or do their job because they are not getting the support they think they need. Or, they are missing certain materials and such that, though they could be helpful, are not absolutely necessary, and indeed they can always be created by ourselves.

Wayne Dyer invested in himself. When they said no to the book promotions and that they had unsold copies and wouldn't print more, he decided to create his own book store in his garage and dipped into his savings and bought all the remaining copies that the book publisher had, then he ordered more so they had to print more. Then he went out and sold them out of his trunk, went on hundreds of radio shows across the country telling people to go to the local book store where he had many copies on consignment, and much more. He knew what he wanted and he refused to take no for an answer.

But, here's the key and Wayne Dyer didn't speak of it, but effectively lived it: He didn't swim upstream very far with the publisher. He could have just complained and complained and complained, and instead, he knew what he wanted and took charge. In fact, he led the publisher, not the other way around. That is fascinating.

So when someone tells me that they are being held back because of this and that and they won't do this and that, and all that stuff, I just try to guide them to take the initiative themselves to make it happen. It starts in the mind. It starts with desire. It then morphs into inspired action. If the desire is weak, the thoughts are weak and all the action in the world won't bring the desired results. It's like trying to make a positive out of a negative. You have to begin with the positive: I want to succeed at this, I want to do this, I will do this.

I had a thought today (along with a few thousand more) about how one can be locked up in prison for life and be happy. No matter what the circumstances around us, and no matter what others might think about us, we have one power that is completely our own, and that is what we choose to think. We have the choice of looking at life with hope or despair. Viktor Frankl said that this was what made all the difference in whether he and others died in a concentration camp in Germany or whether they lived. It is our frame of mind, our focus, our choice of how we think. It always was and always will be.


I Am Blessed When Someone Says No, Or Says It Can't Be Done. They Have No Real Authority Over Me Anyway. I Choose. I Always Get To Choose. 

Spread Some Joy Today--in accepting your own power to choose your joy.

Daily Inspiration 7-16-19

"Wouldn't it be nice if we were older? 

Then we wouldn't have to wait so long. 

And wouldn't it be nice to live together 

in the kind of world where we belong?" 

-- First verse of the song, 

Wouldn't It Be Nice 

by The Beach Boys 

[Classic post from 1-23-15]

I want to buy it, but I can't afford it. I want more money because I'm sick and tired of being broke. I want to find the right person because I'm sick of all these losers I've been dating. I want a better job because this place just doesn't appreciate me."

What is the issue with all these common statements? In sales, we call it selling and then buying it back. We state what we want, then we negate that statement by talking about what we do not want. It's sort of like wanting the solution, but then we continually discuss the problem over and over.

I'm sure we have all said these kinds of statements, or something like them not realizing that we are asking and then giving it back at the same time. Because this is a very common thing, of the 22 Abraham-Hicks processes to help us make use of the information learned in their book, Ask and It Is Given, one is called, Wouldn't It Be Nice... .?

The idea behind the process is to soften the resistance or potential resistance that has become a habit for many of us. When we get rid of resistance, we can then allow and be in the position of receiving the things and situations that we want. We need to focus on the what we want part and avoid completely how it will happen and all the other things that we cannot control. If we focus on what we can control--the thought of what we want--we can get out of our own way and get on with it.

The way they say when to use this process is "when you find yourself leaning toward the negative and therefore offering resistance, and you want to turn it around to something more positive, or when you are already feeling good, and you want to focus more specifically on certain areas of your life to make them even better, or when you want to gently guide a negative, or potentially negative, conversation to a more positive place for your benefit or to gently guide someone else."

"When you say, "I want this thing to happen that hasn't happened yet," you're not only activating the vibration of your desire, but you are also activating a vibration of the absence of your desire--so nothing changes for you. But when you say, "Wouldn't it be nice if this desire would come to me?" you achieve a different sort of expectation that is much less resistant in nature."

I've begun using this a lot in the last few months. There is no doubt that it helps me to stay on the positive side of expectation and I can feel that it softens my resistance. Plus, it is a great way to use our imagination and allow ourselves to think about the possibility of asking for things that we might have previously considered improbable or impossible in our mind. In addition, it is just fun and keeps everything so light.

Abraham offers a few sample questions:

"Wouldn't it be nice if I had a really productive day at work?
Wouldn't it be nice if I stumbled onto something that really worked for me? Wouldn't it be nice if my metabolism began to cooperate with me a little more? Wouldn't it be nice if I could reclaim the bodyweight I had when I was such and such an age? Wouldn't it be nice if I find someone, and we waltz off into the sunset together?"

I think this is a gentle and delicious game to feel better and to lean toward the positive, uncaring how it will come, which is the perfect place for allowing it in.


Wouldn't It Be Nice? 

Spread Some Joy Today--by planning to enjoy yourself before you get there.

Daily Inspiration 7-15-19

"I celebrate myself, 

and sing myself." 

-- Walt Whitman

[Classic post from 1-21-15]

Yesterday I talked about the Book of Positive Aspects and doing a page or two on the Positive Aspects of Me. Did you try it?

Wayne Dyer said, "I cannot always control what goes on outside. But I can always control what goes on inside." The Book of Positive Aspects is such a perfect tool to focus on the things that are positive and good feeling and wonderful, which in the process, draws more of that kind of thing into our lives.

So, I highly recommend that you try it and see for yourself. Take one page and you can write more on the other side, and begin at the top of the page: Positive Aspects of Me! Then, spend a few minutes writing everything that comes into mind that you like about yourself. No one but you will see it, so there are no worries about someone laughing at you or making remarks. It's just you with you.

Here are some thought starters:

What do you love to do?
What are you passionate about?
What excites you?
How do you feel about what you do for a living?
How do you feel about your family?
What do you love about your body?
What are you generous with?
In what ways are you generous?
What is your connection to love?
What brings you joy?
How do you feel about learning?
How do you feel about knowledge?
What do you appreciate?

When it isn't flowing, stop for now and reread your list of positive aspects.


I'm Sure You Will Find That You Are Pretty Dang Special. How Perfect! Because YOU ARE! 

Spread Some Joy Today--Enjoy your day like it was Christmas morning and there are so many presents that it takes hours just to get to them all.

Daily Inspiration 7-14-19

"You cannot control what happens to you, 

but you can control your attitude 

toward what happens to you, 

and in that, you will be mastering change 

rather than allowing it to master you." 

-- Brian Tracy 

[Classic post from 1-2-15]

The quote above is what I believed for most of my life: that things happen to me that I cannot control and that if I become a wise and learned soul, I will develop an attitude about those things that helps me to adapt to the change and to make the best of it.

I have all manner of books and audio programs from Brian Tracy, Jim Rohn, and a host of business mentors who has taught the same sort of thing. I bought it and even promoted and repeated it in training and such. And, though I am very grateful for what they have taught me, I have become a selective sifter, now taking what really resonates with me and leaving the rest. If it resonates with me, it feels good. If it feels good, it resonates. If it doesn't feel good, it doesn't resonate, and so I let it go. 

I've come to believe that I control what happens to me. It's just that more often than not I've been drawing things to myself without knowing this was true or paying attention. Then, seemingly all of a sudden, this thing that I don't want happening in my life is there and I have to deal with it somehow after the fact. It's easy to believe that things happen to us without our participation, especially things that are not wanted or not pleasant.

Then, once I see it in my life and I cannot escape the reality of it, my taught option was to change my attitude about it and then it would be okay. I do realize that how I look at something or perceive it is important, and it can soften the surprise of things happening to me without my control I suppose. Trouble is, though I tried that for many years, it never really worked for me. I would still feel like a victim, but maybe a less angry victim, or less distraught victim.

I have freed myself from this victim to victor philosophy by completely changing the first line in the quote at the top and thereby changing the entire meaning of the quote.

Since I have come to believe that I create my own environment and I can either do it deliberately or unconsciously, but I surely create it, I have now become a practicing deliberate creator. I want to be in control of and deliberately choose what happens in my life. And so by choice and being in control, I am such, and it feels good.

So, here's the new quote for today: "I control what happens to me because I am the creator of my environment. I cannot control others because I cannot create for them. They must do that for themselves. With my choice of thought and matching vibrational resonance, I am the joyful master of my own life."


Taking Control Of What I Create Is A Perfect And Powerful Choice. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by loving more and fretting less.

Daily Inspiration 7-13-19

"Your organization will never get better 
unless you are willing to admit 
that there is something wrong with it."

-- Norman Schwarzkopf

"Your organization will never get better 
unless you are willing to focus on 
and constantly expand on what's right about it!"

-- Terry Minion

[Classic post from 12-03-09]

Sorry Norman, I know you mean well and you have far more education than I; however, I have to disagree completely with this quote. Frankly, it is a piece of cake to admit there are things wrong with a company, or a person, or a situation, or life, or the world, or whatever. It takes no brains at all to do that. Line 10 employees up and ask them what is wrong and you will get a serious earful. If they feel free to talk, that is. And if they do, look out! Here comes the judge. . .

What is really needed to move a company forward (or a person, situation, life, the world, or whatever), is focusing on what is right and constantly expanding on that. Who cares what is wrong? Focus on what you do well and expand on that.

I tell you this from long experience: naysayers are a dime a dozen. You can find them anywhere anytime, and any quantity. And, I'll tell you this from experience: they don't do anything to help anything. They are anchors and sinkers and balloon poppers. My best advice is to move quickly away.

Here's a great question to ask all the employees: What are we doing well? Then, some follow-up questions, like, How can we do more of that? How can we expand that? What do you hear our customers say that is good about us? Can we give better service? How? How can we give such great service that our customers will rave about us? How can we lower prices and still provide more value? How can our company be a better participant in the community? How can our company have employees to rave about working here?

What's even better than this is to ask your customers and prospects: What is your experience like with us? What do you like about what we do? What do you think we could add to make it better? For you to tell all your friends about this company, what would we need to be doing to have you that excited about doing business with us?

Focus on successes, not failures. Leave the failures for history to sort out. Get the enthusiasm rolling and the excitement arcing and the fun laughing. Turn it on and watch it glow. It just needs a spark and some insight and ideas. Let's rock it out!

TODAY IS THE DAY!

Let's Get Started!


I Focus On What I Am Good At And Get Better.

Spread Some Joy Today--There is almost nothing better than giving someone else some encouragement. Find something to encourage someone else and don't keep it to yourself--TELL THEM--NOW! To their face is okay. . .

Daily Inspiration 7-12-19

A Native American grandfather
was talking to his grandson about how he felt.

He said, "I feel as if I have two wolves fighting in my heart.

One wolf is a vengeful, angry violent one.
The other world is the loving, compassionate one."

The grandson asked him,
"which wolf will win the fight in your heart?"

The grandfather answered,
"The one I feed."

-- From HeartQuotes

[Classic post from 10-5-10]

This little story is so true. We have the power within us all to be angry, vengeful, and violent. We also have the power to be loving, kind and compassionate. We have the power to complain, cajole and harass and we have the power to praise, compliment and encourage. They both always exist within us and the one that we feed will be the dominant one. Which is your dominant path? The glass half empty or half full? Essentially, that is the only difference.

One of the ways in which we feed either side of us is by making judgments and justifications from those judgments. This leads to a negative comment, but it's really a positive comment because it is based in reality and it is justified by judgment. In other words, it's right.

Unfortunately, that is a place from which it is very hard to escape. Once there, the tendency is to remain there and continually search for more and more judgment and justification for which to back up the negative thoughts and comments.

The good news is that by releasing one single thing, it will change everything in your life. Stop judging. Feed the love and stop judging.

I feel the love and I feed the love! Yes, and Amen!

The Less I Judge, The More I Can Love.

Spread Some Joy Today--Make your choice. Perhaps it has been habitual in the past, but it is easy to change. Make your choice.

Daily Inspiration 7-11-19

"Try not to become a man of success,

but rather a man of value."

-- Albert Einstein

"Friendship is unnecessary,

like philosophy, like art. . .

It has no survival value;

rather it is one of those things

that give value to survival."

-- C. S. Lewis

"The promises of this world are,

for the most part, vain phantoms;

and to confide in one's self,

and become something of worth and value

is the best and safest course."

-- Michelangelo

"The value of a man should be seen in what he gives

and not in what he is able to receive."

-- Albert Einstein

[Classic post from 3-5-10]

Contrary to my previous thinking, to become a person of value by becoming a person in service of others, and a giving person, is not to sacrifice my life for the others, but to enhance and expand my life.

The problem I used to have with this concept was the sacrificing part. I thought if I lived my life for others forsaking my own, what kind of life is that? What changed was the wording of the concept from living my life for others, forsaking my own, to living my life in service to others by being a person of value. Isn't there a whole universe of difference between those two? The first one is not being of value at all. It is more of a pity party or what I have to do. Being of service is not excluding self, but expanding self to have excess to give.

Let's forget about the small values like kindness, friendship, encouragement for the moment. Let's look at some of the rich people who have also become philanthropists. They set up foundations and give an initial amount to begin the fund and that fund is held at interest. As donations come from other people and organizations it grows, then amounts are released in such an amount that the fund continues forever. It becomes a giving machine, giving more value every year to more people. Think about the value of forever versus them giving their entire fortune away in one fell swoop. The value is in the foundation because it also has lasting value for generations to come.

Not long ago, I didn't really understand that. I thought they were just being cheap in their giving and giving a little of their vast fortune. In reality, and in my awakening awareness, they are actually being of far more value than they could otherwise be. They use their fame to gain other donations and other partnerships in the giving field of their interest. They use the money wisely and in a way that is consistent with the thinking that brought them wealth, to begin with.

Now, let us go smaller again. How can we who don't have wealth think in these terms in order to provide more value than we would otherwise? One way is sharing your interests in what you are passionate about. Another is to form alliances and partnerships with other like-minded people toward similar objectives. It doesn't even need to be in terms of money. It could be of time, energy, interest, and much more.

Instead of thinking, "what can one person do?" Instead, think, "what can I do to multiply my efforts toward adding value to this?" Totally different thinking. One is almost an excuse to give up and the other is seeking more power.

Becoming a person of value has just expanded.


I Become More Valuable By Becoming Of Service To More People. I Am A Person Too.

Spread Some Joy Today--What can you do today to be of service to someone else? Now do it. Today.